I have my favorite products which doesn’t always include drugstore brands but over the years I’ve found a few that truly measure up to those pricier brands. Here are a few of my favorites!

• I actually prefer L’Oreals Volumunous mascara to nearly all brands hands down. This mascara makes my lashes look both thicker and longer. It also doesn’t cake like most of the drugstore brands I’ve tried in the past.
• Physicians Formula is another brand that I’ve been really impressed with over the years. I don’t prefer this eyeliner to the one I use regularly but if I’ve run out and don’t have time to head to the department store to grab my usual this has been my no fail in a pinch.
• The Revlon nail polish is hands down one of my favorite nail polish brands ever. I find that it lasts just as long as some of the higher end brands if not longer.
• Another great product when you’re in a pinch is the Neutrogena Foundation, it’s light, it smells great and it feels great. Great foundation for the dollar!
• I rarely stray from my favorite Bobbi Brown lipstick but this Revlon comes pretty close in the way of lipstick and it’s under $5.00…Bonus!

What are some of your favorite drugstore brands?

The August Birchbox wasn’t fantastic but there were a few items I really liked.

1. Miyu
2. WEI Pomegranate buffing beads- Wasn’t a fan. It comes in a powder form with minimal instructions so there is a possibility that I wasn’t mixing it properly.
3. Fresh Feet Wipes- Living in Hawaii, I found these fresh feet wipes genius. Life is about flip-flops and tank tops here in Banana Land and with that, we quite honestly end up with dirty feet so these were useful to me.
4. Miku Tea-
5. The Perfect Smoky Eye- Not really my colors but it was a nice eyeshadow.
6. Stila- Definitely a little too red for me but I love the lip gloss.

After the discontinuation of my facial cleanser by Estee Lauder a few months back, I’ve been on a crazy search to find something new.  Well, I’ve tried several products but nothing noteworthy as of yet.  Sephora’s had a special trial set of Murad for purchase of just under $50. So I thought it was a good way to try without being stuck with yet another bottle of cleanser I won’t use.

There are several things I love about this skincare line however, I don’t think that I’ll add every single product.

• I was incredibly happy with Advanced Active Radiant Serum and it’s counterpart the Rapid Age Spot Serum. I have several dark spots from sun damage and within four days  time,  I already began to see them lightening up. In the past I’ve used Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair and was very happy with that as well so it would be a pretty good toss up between the two.  I would say Murad worked a little faster and didn’t feel quite as tacky as Estee Lauder.  I will definitely be adding this to my arsenal of facial products.
• The moisturizer is nice as well but I have other moisturizers that I currently like more so I won’t be adding this one to the mix. I did like it for my neck and chest at nighttime and it also seemed to help with the sun damage.
• The cleanser was nice and an orange scent (the entire line) of course. The only problem I had with it, is that my face didn’t really feel squeaky clean.  My favorite part of the day, is winding down for the night and that includes washing my face, it wasn’t an overwhelming, I have to have this type of cleanser.
• The Intensive C-Peel is another great product I do love. I think it worked really well in conjunction with the use of the Radiance Serum and Rapid Age Spot Serum.

Long story short, I’m still searching for that perfect cleanser, so leave a comment and let me know what you are loving right now.

I’m obviously a little late posting July’s Birchbox, due to being on vacation but I really wanted to share this one with you all. Honestly, it’s the first time I was thoroughly impressed with all of the contents.

• Sud Pacifique Perfume was very light and summery scent of vanilla and apricots just like it describes.
• G-1 Boys & Girls a great matifyer that works like a charm.  I would say it’s very comparable to Clinique’s matte (which I’m not even sure if they still make).
• Marcelle BB Cream Golden Glow- I was pleasantly surprised with this particular BB cream because I’ve tried several brands and wasn’t a fan at all. This one did exactly what it promised to do. It’s light and doesn’t have a strong scent. My only complaint is that it does feel a little tacky for awhile after it’s applied.
• Klorane Dry shampoo. First time I’ve ever used a dry shampoo so I honestly do not have a basis for comparison but I can tell you, I really liked it. It smells good and your unwashed hair will not look oily. I’m not sure that I would personally buy it because I have to wash my hair everyday but if I didn’t this would totally make the shopping list.
• Birchbox bobby pins were very cute and held everything in place, only complaint is that they are impossible to pry open at first. Good luck with those long finger nails.

1. The Awapuhi ginger repairing shampoo and conditioner by Organix is my new best friend. It is infused with awapuhi ginger extract which helps to mend and soften dry, course hair. That’s me right there. It smells amazing too.
2. Sexy Little Thing by Victoria’s Secret is a very inexpensive body mist with a combination of nectarine, cattelaya orchid and amber.  It’s a light scent that is perfect for fall.
3. Another hair product that has tamed down some of my frizzy locks is Advance Techniques available through Avon. It comes with a great price too!
4. I received this amazing mascara in POPSUGAR’s Must-have box a few months back. It has this curve that makes brushing the buttom lashes SO much easier and bonus they look so much better.

What new beauty products have you tried over the summer?

• Coola Sunscreen- My new favorite sunscreen for the face. It doesn’t smell like sunscreen, in fact it smells pretty good and goes on really light.
• Fabulous by Izaac Mizrahi- A little too musky for my taste in perfumes.
• Sumita Eyeliner
• Acroball pen- One can never have too many pens and I love the Acroball.
• Marvis- Very bitter, was not a fan, it almost had a soapy taste. I’ll stick with Crest.

I never in a million would’ve thought I’d love this Fluidline dipdown gel formula by MAC so much. I just assumed I would make a clumped up mess of my eyes but I was wrong. It does take a little getting used to but after a few times of applying it you should be good to go. It goes on surprisingly smooth and provides a softer finish than pencil liners.

That’s it for Makeup Monday! What great new products have you tried lately? Please share!

I’ve been wanting to try this Supergoop sunscreen forever. Well, let’s just say, I didn’t burn but it was a little heavier than I like my sunscreen to be since I literally wear it every day. That being said, this is what I like about the Birchbox, I didn’t spend the money on a big bottle I’ll never use.

A nice shaving cream but I’m certainly not the expert in this department since I just use regular old Dove.

Ok, this Macadamia Oil Deep Repair Masque was definitely a nice gift because just two days before, I accidentally used the Wool and Cashmere shampoo on my hair. Blonde moment perhaps but the bottle did say shampoo AND I did realize it right after I started to lather up. Not only that, why in the world would they label a laundry detergent with the word “shampoo” in a bottle that LOOKS like shampoo. My husband said it was so obvious and maybe that’s true but because I don’t buy fancy laundry detergent it was not obvious to me.  I told myself I would never share that story with anyone but here I am blasting it on the ‘ol blog. So long story short, this Macadamia Oil helped repair some rather dry hair after the horrible wool shampoo incident.

I’ve always been a fan of Benefits but I wasn’t crazy about this benetint but that might be because I live in Hawaii and my cheeks tend to get a little pink regardless with the heat and sun alone.

Looking forward to sharing the contents of the April Birchbox with you all soon!